…my kindergarten class is pretty good this year. Some of you may remember last year’s boot camp. Last year redefined “difficult students” and I came into this year prepared for the worst. I know that I shouldn’t let my opinion of last year’s class influence my opinion of this year’s class but you didn’t meet last year’s class.

This year however…three weeks into the school year and my pro’s list is longer than my con’s list.

The pro’s:

• They have volume control. This is huge. I can actually say 1 time to the class “use your #1 voice” and for the remainder of the work time all you hear is the low hum of 5 year olds working.
• They raise their hands before talking
• They can be trusted to go to the bathroom without me.
• I can leave the room for 5 minutes and when I come back they are in the same spots I’ve left them.
• They rest at rest time.
• They attempt to do their work before asking me for help.
• They don’t tattle (much).
• They clean up without tearing around the room and shrieking.
• It only took me a week to teach them the routine of the room.
• They remember the routine.
• When I do have to discipline the whole class by making them practice, they actually realize that if they fix the problem, the punishment is over.

The cons are few and far between. Their biggest issue is lining up. They can walk in a line just fine. They can line up in the hallway just fine but for whatever reason lining up in our classroom or the lunch room causes them to forget all common sense, forget all rules, forget their spots in line and start with the pushing and the shoving and the worrying about who gets to be first (even though we have a line leader everyday). I’m not really sure why they do this but trust me, we’ll be working on this next week.

As far as the kids go, for the most part they are great. There are only 3 that drive me crazy on a regular basis.

I have the younger sister of one of my boys from last year. And she makes her brother look like a saint. Her current favorite activities in class - starting laughing (while I’m talking) just to see how many kids she can get laughing, doing opposite of what I tell the class (for example Me: I need everyone to cross their legs, please. Her: (looks directly at me and sticks her legs straight out).), and in general making a mental list on how many ways she can irritate me in a single day.

The next kid is only going to be difficult for a few more weeks. He understands English but can barely speak it so his behavior is due to the language barrier and at 6 weeks (almost to the day) every non-English speaker I’ve had has started speaking enough English to feel confident enough to participate in the class. And we had a huge break through on Friday. He learned the phrase “what’s that?” so now, he points and asks that about 300 times a day but it’s better than him not having a clue as to what’s going on and chucking stuff across the room out of frustration. Also, next week the ESL teachers start doing pull-out work and lucky for the kindergarteners our ESL teacher speaks both English and Somali so they really like working with her.

And my third is a boy who has made it very obvious that I am clearly a serious inconvenience in his life. Some examples:

Me: A-M, please stop talking we are waiting for you.

A-M: (in a very exasperated tone) Okay. Fine. (and then the talking starts right back up again).

or

Me: A-M, you need to clean up. I already asked you once and [math, art, learning labs, journaling] is over now. You need to stop and clean up.

A-M: (eyes rolling) Uugh, okay, okay. Fine. (and continues to do what I asked him to stop).

Basically, I’m just in the way of him doing whatever he feels like doing. I’ve already told him that I was going to have to call and talk to his dad about the way he is acting and he looked right at me and said “my dad let’s me stop when I want.” Great. So now I have to fix the behavior of the parent and the kid. Well, it’s going to be a long year for him sitting in the take a break chair.

Please do not baby your children.

Thank you.

Signed,

Your Child’s Kindergarten Teacher

——

If you are curious if you fall into that category, here’s a list of the things your child should be capable of doing by the time they go to kindergarten.

1. Put on and take off their coat.

2. Zip their coat.

3. Pull up and down their own pants.

4. Button/snap their pants.

5. Eat with a spoon or fork.

6. Hang up coat/backpack on a hook.

7. Follow simple directions (i.e. put your coat on, sit down)

8. Understand what “no” means.

9. Wait their turn.

10. Some concept of sharing.

If your kids can do these things, your kindergarten teacher will be very excited.

With the elections coming up everyone seems to be re-examining their political beliefs and how government should work. And it seems like everyone I know in blogger land is taking the Politics Test, including me. My results suggested that I would be considered a socialist. And that didn’t really surprise me. I have an idea of what I’d like to see society look like but it’s just that, an idea. I’m grounded enough in reality to know that what I’m proposing probably won’t happen but I also know that on a small scale, it is something I can work towards and attempt to create in my own life regardless of the type of government we have.

So here it is. First, I need to say that I love the way the Church was laid out in the book of Acts and so my faith plays very heavily into this idea. Acts 2:43-45 says: Everyone around was in awe-all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s needs were met. (The Message)

This is something, as American’s, we have lost sight of (and there is more discussion on this here). There no longer is the mentality of helping out a neighbor simply because he needs help. People don’t often work together to pool their resources and live in community with one another.

People have gotten greedy. Sure, Americans donate a pile of money to various organizations, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t greedy. I think that if people were truly not greedy there would be very little poverty/starvation/famine/etc in our world (and I do realize that to fix those problems means more than just giving them money. There are corrupt governments, crazy military uprising and a whole host of other issues that need to be dealt with as well). But if people weren’t greedy for power or control or money or material possessions, would that corruptness in government even exist? Something to ponder.

What would happen if every American gave up one major toy in their life and donated the money to charity. And I’m talking toys like RV’s, boats, 2nd or 3rd cars, motorcycles, cabins, beach houses, grand vacations, expensive jewelry, plasma t.v. Seriously, that’s a ton of money. And that would be on top of whatever people are already giving.

Another part to the greed is people being selfish with their talents. Donating money is helpful, but often times it is not the answer to the problem. Sometimes in order to help someone out we need to give of our time. A lot of our time. Mentoring people on how to interview for jobs or how to manage a bank account. Helping people learn a new language, helping repair a home or car, teaching someone how to cook or sew or …?

So back to my ideal society. Here’s how I see it working:

• It’s not forced. People choose whether or not they want to participate. What the people who don’t want to participate would do - not sure on that one. One option would be to move somewhere they did like the government.
• It’s communal living. All resources (money, talent, time, labor, property, health care) are pooled and divided so that everyone’s needs are met. Again, this does not mean that I round up everyone’s stuff and dole it out in equal portions. It means that all the resources are available to meet everyone’s needs.
• Health Care - could we do away with insurance companies and the red tape? That would be nice. Doctors and pharmacutical companies would also be pooling resources so if some was sick, the resources would be there to help them.
• Government. This is where I feel communism (in its current form) fails miserably. Everyone in current situation is working and laboring for the country. The government is corrupt and the people are obviously not receiving the benefits of their labor. Now, if a government could be constructed in such away that they were actually apart of the people - their resources were part of everyone else’s resources. Another option is that the people are the government. The people as a whole vote and decide on policies and how society is run.
• The mentality cannot be “I can do this on my own” Everyone who participates has to have the common goal of watching out for their neighbor. If you see someone is lacking in a way you can help, help them. Don’t assume someone else will take care of the problem. Here’s where my faith comes in again, it is about putting others before yourself. But remember if everyone is doing that, while you are looking out for someone else, someone else is looking out for you.

• I’m a big fan of the “It Take a Village” motto and mentality. I don’t think people were meant to be solitary creatures. Everyone needs some time alone and some space, yes, but in general I think people would do much better if they were able to be a part of something bigger.

I’m not sure if this helps clear things up or confuses people even more. But there it is.

Great Adventure Club (GAC) started today at church. This year, I don’t have to run it. I’m just teaching the preschool group and so far, it’s been fun. There are 12 kids in my group from 2 1/2 - 4 yrs. old and like every other group of kids I’ve taught I have double the number of boys to girls. It’s fun teaching preschool again, but I’m glad it’s only for 4 days.

Last weekend a friend recommended the book Education Esme. I took Lexi to the library yesterday, checked out the book and finished it in the same day. It’s a quick read, but I couldn’t put it down and I will be back at the library next week checking out the rest of her books.

The short summary of the book is that Esme is a first year teacher in a fifth grade classroom in the inner-city of Chicago. And she rocks as a teacher.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

Responding to a staff member freaking out over something not worth freaking out over and missing what’s actually important:

But certain people just think it’s their job to freak out. As long as they’re freaking out, they feel busy, like they must be doing work. Getting upset is force, but no motion. Unless we are moving the children forward, we aren’t doing work. (page 52)

On making sense:

It does not make sense to say something does not make sense to someone who does not make sense, but sometimes, what else can you say? (page 60)

On being liked as a teacher:

“It’s not our job to be liked,” I reminded her. “It’s our job to help them be smart.” Secretly, I thought, Who gives a rat’s ass if they like us? Sometimes I can hardly stand them!” (page 87)

On a teacher’s day:

When someone asks me, “How was your day?” I never know what to answer. I have thirty-one days every day, a different day with each child. A good day with Ruben, a rough day with Billy…it’s too much. They talk about rewards and gratification in teaching school, and there is a share of it, but they don’t tell you it’s like joining a monastery or going to hell or sleepwalking or being afraid, afraid as you were when you were small. They don’t tell you how it feels when you get dizzy in front of a room full of children, ow what it feels like to tug at the tense bodies of children lashing, hating, fighting, spitting, scratching. They don’t tell how it feels to her “I hate you!” or how it feels to say, “That’s okay, I still love you.” They say now, in the education classes, “You have to be everything to them: counselor, mother, friend…” on and on: The List. I hear the ones who have been teaching for many years run it off with a certain pride. Well, I don’t think it’s anything to be proud of. I don’t want to play mama, I can’t play mama. They need a real mama. And they need a real teacher. (Page 160-161)

So what do you want to ask us about our adoption? Because now is a good time to do it. Before we are crazy busy with a new baby and so sleep deprived (hopefully not) to come up with coherent answers.

I sometimes get the feeling that people want to talk to us about it but aren’t sure what to ask or how to ask it.

Here’s the thing - just ask.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the terminology correct. We’ll help you out. We didn’t have it correct before we started this whole process either - and we’re still learning.

Don’t worry if you think it’s too personal. We’re pretty open with the whole process and if it’s something we’ve decided to keep private, we’ll say just that. And we won’t feel like you were prying.

It’s okay to talk about race, culture, and how it’s all going to tie into our life. In fact, we encourage it. We don’t expect our friends and family to become colorblind. Being Ethiopian is going to be a huge part of our child’s identity. We want him or her to be proud of that and acknowledge it. So it’s okay for you to acknowledge it as well.

And while we’re on the topic of race - go ahead, ask the hard questions. Now is the time to start thinking about how (if you are a part of this baby’s life) that you will deal with his or her race, whether it be your own stereotypes or dealing with racism that may occur while carrying on with daily life.

It’s okay to talk about money. We want people to know where the money goes. International adoption is a ridiculous amount of money and it’s important that people know that the money is all going to different places to make sure everything is done right and proper and legal.

And ask the easy questions as well - think of it like a pregnancy. Ask us if we have heard any news, ask if we’ve talked about names (okay, no, we haven’t really, so maybe you should suggest some), ask if we’ve done any decorating of the baby’s room. You know, the fun questions.

Basically, ask us what you need or want to ask us.

When I go to work tomorrow there will be 4 hours and 15 minutes of school left for the year. Aahhh, a nice feeling to have the end in sight. And yes, teachers enjoy summer vacation and look forward to the last day of school just as much, if not more, than the kids do.

And this has been a rough year. My class was a revolving door of students. We’d lose a student and gain a new one about every 2 weeks for the first 3-4 months of school. The school secretary loves to show people the in/out form for my class. Which, while amusing for the office staff was difficult for my kids. They never quite gelled into a well functioning group. Last year’s group had a lot of quirky behaviors but the kids were consistent so everyone in the class knew what to expect and how to react. This year the kids would panic if their friend was sick for a day in fear that they went to a new school - just like all the other kids in our class. They had to try and learn how each new student was going to act in the classroom and how much of my attention the new student was going to take away from their share and that was hard. With 20 kids, I can only give them so much one-to-one a day, but when it’s a consistent 20 I can rotate myself throughout the week making sure nobody is ignored and I don’t have to spend hours teaching a new child routines and rules.

I also had boys. Lots and lots of boys. And I don’t care what people say, boys and girls think, act and learn in a very different manner from each other. Boys need to be active. They truly do not hear as well as girls so the room is louder (both me and them). Their language develops later which can have an effect on their communication with other and therefore make problem solving in a non-physical way much more difficult. As a whole, boys have a harder time following multiple step directions which means I need to repeat myself about a 1000 times a day. And when the boys out number the girls 2:1 a teacher needs to scrap their whole teaching style and get a new plan - quick. And the plan needs to be simple, consistent and active. And I’m not in anyway implying that boys are any less intelligent than the girls. I’m saying at 5 & 6 years old, girls can handle sitting in their seats, talking quietly, working on worksheets, sharing, sitting and listening to an entire story and not need much re-direction. At 5 & 6 years old boys can listen to an entire story but they do that and pick up fuzz from the carpet and stick it in their friend’s ear. They work on worksheets at their table while standing, sitting on the table, laying on the table, or (my personal favorite), standing in their chair. My girls raised their hands to talk. My boys raised their hands and figured if their hand was up they could just start talking. Teaching a classroom of 13 boys is like trying to teach a classroom of hummingbirds on caffeine.

In all my years of teaching, this will be the class that I tell stories about. This is the class that drove substitute teachers to their breaking point. This is the class that had to go through boot camp, twice. This is the class that ate (yes, ate) their naps mats. This is the class that would look me straight in the eye and say “Make me.” This is the class that spent 3 weeks practicing walking in the stairs instead of going to recess because they didn’t think I would make them. This is the class that redefined the term “difficult children”. This is the class that taught me that I am a really, really good teacher.

Because this year over half my class left kindergarten reading at a first grade level, some at second grade.

This class can do math like nothing else.

This class has kids who along with wanting to be Superman or Spiderman also want to be astronauts, paleontologists, president,  police officers,  archeologists,  scientists and a whole other list of careers.

This class loved reading chapter books and begged their parents to go to the library.

And in 4 hours and 15 minutes graduation will be over. They will be first graders. And I’ll have 3 months to re-group before I meet my new class.

“Low-income urban students know they attend substandard, second-tier schools that lack the technology, resources and extracurricular programs commonplace in schools of more affluent communities. And yet we continue to expect these students to prioritize education when budgetary and funding inequities demonstrate that urban education is neither a local, state, or national priority.”
Will Okun, Chicago high school teacher

Just think about that for a minute….

(quote stolen directly from Tim’s blog)